


Fighting For What You Need

by Femalefonzie



Series: The Barton Family Tree [2]
Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angst, Avengers Family, BAMF Nick Fury, Childhood Memories, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Clint Barton-centric, Clint Has Issues, Existential Angst, Existential Crisis, F/M, Family Feels, Hurt Clint Barton, Limbo, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Nick Fury Feels, Nick Fury Swears, Protective Avengers, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-21 23:48:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9572261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Femalefonzie/pseuds/Femalefonzie
Summary: The sequel to Working With What You Got.After being shot in an altercation, Clint has a strange reunion with his mother and undergoes a weird journey through the afterlife/his own subconscious to learn strange truths about himself.





	

Yellow was a dull color. Dry, and plain, bland in every sense of the word. It reminded Clint of the cheap mustard he used to drown hotdogs in while he was working with the circus and since then he never could stomach the color the same way. Yet when he came to, he was laying face down in the most faded and off-gold colored couch the manufacturer could toss out. It was an assault on the senses, and sent him scrambling up onto his knees in an uncomfortable sitting position.

He wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be in some New York City block, alongside his teammates and handing it to the Wrecking Crew! Not here...where ever here was.

The room was large, and covered with clutter. Old toys littered the floor and nearby coffee table. Everything from Star Wars figurines to pieces from board games to basketballs and moonshoes. There was a TV set up on an entertainment center in the corner of the room the size of a refrigerator, and even a couple VHS tapes stacked beside it. Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, The Little Mermaid...huh. Had he accidentally been sent back in time again? He really hated the infinity stones and was in no mood for this bullshit today.

Something about this seemed too familiar for his liking...Where he did he know this place from?

"You're finally up."

Clint looked over his shoulder. There was a doorway there that lead into a hall. He could stairs leading to an upper level and a kitchen. There was also a woman standing there looking at him strangely. She was smiling, like she was happy to see him, but there was dread in her eyes, like she didn't. She took a step towards him and Clint scrambled back. He remembered this place now, and he didn't want to be here. "Get away from me!"

The woman's smile faded. She took another step forward. "Clint-"

"No!" He shouted at her. "Get away from me! This isn't real! This can't be real! It's too soon!"

Tears started to form in the woman's eyes and she nodded her head. "I know. It is too soon. But...-" her voice cracked. "...I haven't seen you in so long..."

Clint could never stomach seeing her cry. It was the easiest way to guilt trip the archer. Still, he was more panicked than anything at this moment. He couldn't just push away the voice in his head that told him that he was absolutely not supposed to be here! He took a deep breath before asking, "...What happened to me?"

The woman rubbed her eyes until they were red and irritated. She also took a deep breath before replying. "You were fighting the wrecking crew...one of them realized that while you were a S.H.I.E.L.D agent you were still human...he brought a gun."

Clint didn't remember that. The last thing he could recall, he was making some pun to Natasha about their most prominent baddies, there was a loud crack, then he was stumbling to the ground. He'd been shot at before, it came with the territory, but he could remember those times easily. This was something different and it terrified him. "So...I'm dead?"

"No!" The woman said quickly. "You're not dead Clint. Not yet."

"But then what am I doing here?! I've been injured before! I have to go help my team-" his team. Nat and Falcon were as vulnerable as him. "WAS ANYONE ELSE HURT?! DID ANYONE ELSE GET SHOT?!"

"No. They're fine. Everyone else is fine. Scared and miserable but fine."

"Scared? What do the Avengers have to be scared of?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Have you been listening to me this entire time? You're in a hospital, unconscious and on the verge of death! Of course your team is miserable, and terrified that they're going to loose you!"

Shit. Natasha. He had been right there beside her. She would have seen him go down, and no matter how tough she was, seeing that would be painful. If he died, it would destroy her. She would blame herself, he knew she would, and never recover. Not to mention the others. Tony would blame himself too, and so would Steve. Thor and the Hulk, the big guys, they would try and act unfazed but they would break down at some point sobbing. They had both lost a lot of people, they couldn't loose one more. Falcon...Clint had given him such a hard time but they liked each other. The kid was too young to have to see a friend buried. And then there was Antman. He was still in LA. Who would tell him that Clint was dead?

The archer scrambled to his feet. "I have to get back!" He said, "Where's the door?! I have to leave-"

"There is no door-"

"I can't stay here! I have to go!" He tried to think back, to remember the house from when he was young. The front door was in the kitchen, and there was a back one off the dining room. He pushed past the woman and darted into the kitchen. Sure enough, the door was still there.

The woman followed him. "Clint, wait-"

He ignored her and tried to yank the door open. Something was holding it in place. Something strong. He tried forcing it open, tried digging his heels into the floor and pulling with every ounce of strength that he had, but it would not budge. The Hulk couldn't break through this thing! "I have to leave!" He exclaimed again. "Please...I have to...-"

"I know." The woman said. "But...you can't leave yet. It's too soon..."

"You can't force me to stay here-!"

"I don't want you here! You think I want to see you suffer?!" She sighed, "Clint this is limbo. You're stuck here until you regain consciousness, or die. You go out that door, and you're running straight into death's awaiting arms."

Limbo. A state between states. A realm of waiting and nothing. "Limbo looks a lot like the old farm." He could barely remember the old farm...

"Limbo takes the shape of a place you love. To comfort you."

"...H-have you been stuck here since-..?"

"No. I am free to leave as I choose, but I came here to help you."

"Help me?"

"Yes, Clint. You're as stubborn as a moose. If I wasn't here, you would have kept trying to find a way out of the door. You would have broken windows, destroyed stuff in desperation, and found yourself closer to death than intended."

That...was probably true. "How long will I be here?" He asked.

"I don't know. Until your life is saved."

He would be saved. His teammates would make sure of it. "...what do we do until then?"

"We talk." The woman said. "I missed 19 years of your life, and I would like to be able to hear about them from you."

19 years? It had really been that long? He was getting old. Clint still needs to get back to the others, to let them know he was okay, but the woman had never lied to him before and he was in unexplored territory now. For the moment, at least, he'd play along and tell her what she'd missed. He shouldn't be here for more than a couple hours anyway.

"Sure thing mom."


End file.
